For the moment, the real mountains are still far away, and we content ourselves to turn our backs to the Pacific and travel up the Llute valley, which climbs gently. On both sides of the valley, we are dominated by mountains of sandstone. Long ago, the inhabitants carved giant figures in the rock, visible for miles.

They are geoglyphs, and we admire them as we progress. But not for long: the evil genie of the chainring has struck again! We disassemble them to find that Olivier’s repairs in Arequipa have not lasted... We are now sitting on the ground, in the process of sawing bolts in the direction of their length (!), to replace the defective originals. And sawing bolts with an old blunt metal saw, is slow, very slow, and not very exciting: can you hear Olivier pestering? They will hear from us, "Special TA!"

Well, with all this, it’s already time to bivouac, and we camp in an unused in a field, next to some palm trees in which nest large... Vultures! They are too small to be condors, but they give us the impression of being in a Lucky Luke comic strip! The following morning, we spend a good hour completing the repair of our chainrings. Both bikes are affected! It is so frustrating to have waste time like this while the sun shines. But finally, the chainrings seem to be fixed solidly.

And we will make them spin! The gentle slope of the valley becomes steeper, and we have to push harder and harder on our pedals.

But a surprise awaits us during a break in a tiny village: we are not alone! We see a couple of upright bicycles, struggling like us to climb the slope: Katja and Dan come from Germany, and are also touring the Chilean Andes. Cool, we have new friends! They advance at about our speed, so we decided to do the route together, or rather to wait for each other at the halts.

At noon, we stop in a small roadside cafe, in the middle of nowhere as often. Our friends buy themselves a real meal, we buy just coffee and tea, and we are well inspired because the bill is salty, 1500 pesos (more than 2 €) just for that, it is like being in France! (Well, not quite...). From the window, we can see the rest of our road... What? Oh no, not that? It climbs like hell to the top of the nearby mountain, 950 meters higher... Well yes, we have started to climb the Andes! Still, it's impressive, and it almost discourages our friends who wonder if they are not going to stop here for today. But we manage to convince them that they should try: there are still many hours of sunshine left...

So let's go climb the Andes! And little by little, push of pedal after push of pedal we climb to the top of the mountain... Only to discover, of course, that it is topped by other mountains, and the slope continues, just as steep! But after long hours of hard work, the sun is low on the horizon indicating that it is finally time for rest. Whew! We enter a small canyon between two mountains, well hidden from the road. Tonight, we cook for four and discuss under the stars...

The next day, we wake at dawn, full of courage to face the climbs ahead. For the whole day we are going to push, push, push on the pedals: 1000 2000 3000 m, one by one the altimeter shows that we have crossed a contour line, each one is a small victory! Fortunately, around 11 am, the wind picks up... and... YES! It’s a tailwind! And it will continue for the rest of our ascent.

And while he pedals, Olivier is thinking... You can almost see the little light bulb light up above his head, along with a big smile on his face: An idea! A sail for our bikes! No sooner thought than done: tent pegs wedged between the saddlebags, and a windcheater stretched across them, and now Phileas and Heidi are transformed into sailing bikes... And it works! We gain almost 2 km/hour in the gusts, it must be said that the wind is strong. Olivier is delighted to his handiwork, and Amanda is proud of her brilliant husband. It’s true that there is room for improvement, but the idea is nice... Meanwhile, the wind alone does not suffice, and we continue our efforts in the climbs...

But late in the afternoon, the road flattens out a little: we arrive on a plateau, great! And there, in front of a range of windswept mountains, we discover a rather peculiar "house". A wooden panel said: "Pueblo Malku, green power". What a strange place! It is a kind of refuge for "hippies", but very cosy. Outside, there are wooden seats and various objects, rocks, shells, fossils, simply laid on tables or assembled into strange works of art. A small distance away, a wind generator justifies the panel. One could sit for hours and enjoy the scenery or exame the attractive objects. A door closed with a simple curtain leads us inside: we discover a woman with blue eyes, a man with a white beard, and other women in traditional dress. There are also children running everywhere. The room is decorated the same style as the exterior, but with the added bonus of piles of books of all kinds: flora and fauna, astronomy, geology, philosophy, theater... We are among scholars! A kitchen, with a wall that is a large wood-burning stove, occupies half of the room. We have never seen such a place. The woman with blue eyes, Andrea, welcomes us and asks if we wish to stay the night, as they are also a campsite. "See what you have climbed! You are heroes! "(Great!). "You are now close to 4000 metres altitude, you must go more slowly and relax." She seems very kind, but it is still early in the day, and more importantly it is a bit expensive for us. However, we buy some fresh bread that her husband is in the process of cooking, and we have a well-deserved break around a hot chocolate. It does us good!

We reluctantly leave this peaceful haven to continue our ascent. We manage a total of 1500 metres climb before Katja’s painful knees (and the general opinion) say we should stop our efforts. Tonight, the stars are incredibly bright in the clean air of the mountains... And the next day, guess what? The road climbs again!

The plateau on which we had arrived the day before was only a transitory stage in our ascent of the Andes: Today, we are above 4000m... It's difficult, but we are four, and we encourage ourselves and complain together, and the slopes seem less painful. Because they are, and we discover that we can advance at 3 km/h without falling! With the altitude, we must also stop regularly to catch our breath, but the breaks allow us to admire the herds of vicuñas. Around 2p.m., we finally reach a pass at 4600m, and then... the road descends! And moreover the landscape is beautiful... The exhilarating descent brings us to the level of the principal town, Putre, in Lauca Park. It is necessary refuelling point before going further, into the more deserted scenery. Cathia and Dan intend stop there for the night and the next day, in order to acclimatize to the altitude. As for us, we would like to pursue a little further...

Putre is not exactly on our road, it is a detour of 4 km. Anyway, there is no need to take all our gear, because it is a return trip. So Olivier, courageous, decides to go with a lightened version of Phileas, whilst Amanda keeps watch on the rest at the fork. We say goodbye to Katja and Dan, who will take a different route: it was really nice to climb the Andes together!
Once in Putre, Olivier fills the bags and, logs himself onto the Internet. Towards 4 p.m. he rejoins Amanda, who is starting to feel cold in the fresh breeze of the mountains.

Off we go again! Up and up! We are told that a little higher there is a... hot spring! It brings back pleasant memories... But here, the spring is not alongside the road, but at the end of a long dirt track. It is so bad that we have to dismount and push, and push, while the sun disappears behind the horizon. Will we manage to get there before dark? Not sure... We are tempted to stop where we are for tonight, but the air is glacial, and the prospect of a hot bath impels us to persevere a little longer. And finally we arrive breathless, after a good hour's slaving: whew, finished for today! 1600m change of altitude: the hardest day of our trip... It is worth celebrating with a glass of mulled wine, isn’t it? The site seems deserted, but when we install the tent, we hear noises: it is the warden, who has almost scared us!

We have difficulty understanding him, but he understands what we want, and takes us to a pool of steaming water... Just for us. We then enjoy the delights of a hot bath, under the stars, which have already been out for a long time. Happiness...

We wobble back to our tent, shivering with fatigue and heat (the hot spring at 4000m, makes our head spin...). We will sleep well...
And we are already in our fifth day of climbing!

We resist the temptation of a hot bath in the morning, which would leave us soft and weak, and set off for an onslaught of new climbs. It’s a little less steep than the day before, but still very hilly, and at over 4000m, we are not as efficient: we must often stop in the to catch our breath. But the landscapes are increasingly beautiful. After the dry and deserted hills of the past few days, the mountains are now covered by a green heather, forming what they call "bofedals" that seems to be a specific ecosystem. We are now entering the official limits of Lauca Park, and soon after we finally come to the Altiplano (which is less "plano" than in Peru!).

And after a turn of the road, the Parinacota volcano suddenly appears before us, huge cone covered with snow, dominating the horizon. Closer, "small" mountains (which all exceed 6000m) offer colours worthy of volcanic Iceland: red, bright yellow, orange, they stand out against the blue sky, forming fabulous scenery.

At our feet, there are light green meadows, crossed by numerous rivers, and populated by calm vicuñas: a vision of paradise... The wind still blows strongly, but luckily, it is still a behind us. We rig our "sails" again! And we spin along through this landscape of dreams. At noon, we have a lunch break in front of a deserted "refuge". We see another inhabitant of the park, vizcachas: they are a sort of "Giant Rabbit", with small ears and long tails, cousins of the chinchilla. They are not frightened by man, and leap around the prairie in front of us... We are lucky with weather, not only is the wind behind us, but the sun is shining in a blue sky... Let us make the lost of it! Around 4 p.m., the wind turns a little, and we have to work a little harder. We stop in the hamlet of "Chucuyo" shown on our map. It is the first since Putre, and we need some bread! But, surprise, the "Hamlet" is only a simple police post, "Chilean Carabineros". We start to ask the carabinero where we could we find bread, but he interrupts us: "Come and have some tea inside". It is true that the wind is turning cold...

And there, we are treated like kings. He installs us in a cosy little room worthy of a grandmother, and our host brings us bread, butter, jam, and then also a delicious soup, and seeing our appetite he comes back again with a plate of rice and vegetables for everyone! We could hardly believe it, but he seems pleased by our joyful surprise. "So stay here for the night, it will drop to -15 °C outside, you will be warmer in here with us."

It does not take more to convince us to accept: what a welcome! There are four of them on the premises, all as charitable as the first. We spend a luxury evening with them: showers, laundry, recharge our batteries on the mains, and a frugal dinner (fortunately, given our 4 o’clock snack) of omelette and bread. We have difficulty understanding their Chilean accent (these damned Chileans swallow the end of all their words!), But still, we manage a discussion: Whilst Amanda questions them about the multiple functions of Carabineros and the difficulty of their profession, Olivier inquires about our future itinerary: we decide to turn south before reaching the Bolivian border (for the moment, we are going due east), and follow the border on the Chilean side: it seems that it is very beautiful, but we will have to renounce paved roads for good! We will cross into Bolivia further south, a little north of the Salar de Uyuni, our next destination.
But before all that, our ascent of the Andes ends the next day with a pass at 4700 m, above a beautiful lake: we have finished most of the hard work!
We are very proud to have arrived here from the sea level by the sheer force of our little legs... After a few well-merited descents, we have reached the complicated border between Chile and Bolivia: it is time for us to turn 90 degrees to the south! And leave the soft, smooth, flat asphalt for a sandy dirt track on which we progress much more slowly. Especially since it goes uphill! So much so that we have to get off our bikes and push: it prepares us for the Sud Lipez mountains of Bolivia! But the steep climb is not eternal, and it finally gives way to a heady descent that brings us to an immense valley... And at the end of the descent, guess what?... A hot spring of course! In the middle of nowhere, a small stone hut, and inside there is a bathtub dug in the ground, filled with steaming water. All this, just for us! Ah, effort and comfort, we love this trip!

 

We are now on less frequented roads (well, tracks!), and our route takes us far from any inhabited place, in the heart of the Chilean Andes, and always at altitudes above 4200 m. But we love these immense solitudes, and even if we spend our days pestering against the state of the track (sand, stone, corrugated iron, and often a cocktail of the three!), we are enthralled by the landscapes that we discover.

We progress along paradisiacal valleys, where small streams flow amidst bright green moss, and hundreds of vicuñas and alpacas graze freely. From time to time, some gracefully across the road just in front of us... A magical country!

Well, sometimes, of course, things are not so good. The valleys give way to steep, rocky hills, and an Andean storm breaks over us. Like on this hillside, for example, which never ends, with the cold wind slapping our faces stronger and stronger. But we want to finish this hill, because over the top is... The Salar (a salt flat) de Surire!
We stop to take advantage of this unique landscape (and to get our breath back too!): We look out over an enormous white plain that almost dazzles us in the sun, which has come out again for the occasion. Our first Salar! We quickly drop down the road to the level of the salt flat, and from close up, the salt flat is even more beautiful. On the edge, the shores still have water and flamingos are walking by the dozens. On the water's edge, vicuñas and alpacas graze quietly. The volcanoes are reflected in the water that begins to sparkle in the late afternoon sun... We make a stop at a post of Carabineros, placed on the edge of the Salar, in the middle of nowhere. But this time, we are not looking for hospitality, just information: there is a hot spring, 30 km away, on the other side of Salar... All the more reason to go round! We finish this beautiful day with a trip along the shore of the lake between vicuñas and flamingos. The landscape is so fabulous that we stop every 500m to take films and photos. It's hard to believe we are here, in this postcard scenery of the end of the world... And we got here through the sheer force of our muscles! What a reward...

 

The next day, the landscape is changed by large storms that break above us... The storm that thunders on the volcanoes gives a dramatic note to the landscape: the Salar is giving a grandiose display today! And as if asking to be forgiven the unpleasant weather, it gives us its most beautiful hot spring. It is like being in Iceland! After a turn of the road, a little pond of steaming blue-green water appears, flowing into a winding river. Right next door, a picnic table invites us to one of the best halts of our trip through Chile... And the rain stops! There was even a ray of sunshine whilst we slid with delight into the hot water, with the volcanoes in the background behind the white salt flat

 

The rest of the day is a little less interesting. We pedal in the rain or between the drops, under a low grey sky that no longer brings out the beauty of the Salar, that we soon leave because the road turns away towards our next destination: the city of Colchane, on the Bolivian border. We hope to shop there, and particularly to find an Internet connexion, since we have had no contact with the family since Putre and we hope that they are not too worried. The mobile phone has not captured a signal since we left Arica. We are really at the end of the world out here.

 

Meanwhile, Colchane is behind a lot of mountains, and we climb again to heights that we have never reached before: 4735 m a new record! Here, the Andes start to resemble Iceland: we are surrounded by sandy ochre mountains, formed from volcanic ashes, giving us the feeling of being on Mars... (there is not much air either!). <

 

The few villages that we come across, each time in the hope of finding villagers and especially a shop (we still have 2.5 kilograms of pasta, but we would like a change…), are mostly in the state of ruins. The area is not heavily populated...

In one of them, however, a van stops unloads three women, who start to shear the fleece of alpacas! We watch, curious, this first stage of the manufacture of these soft scarves: the shearing is done with huge square metal blades, which they hone regularly on a large flat stone. The alpacas, tied by their legs, wait patiently. After shearing, which takes a long time, they are reduced to only half their initial volume and a big pile of wool appears alongside! They look almost like vicuñas. Let's hope they are not too cold!

But in this volcanic country, we encounter a new enemy: after the "headwind-that-slaps-your-face-and-makes-you-depressed", and "storms-of-hail-and-icy-rain", here we encounter "Treacherous-sand-that-makes-you-fall"! The road goes through hilly volcanic ashes that resemble sand dunes... In short, we feel as if we are on a beach, and the wheels of our heavily loaded bikes sink in deeply, making them stop dead. Careful, high risk of falling! Especially since the track is treacherous: it is very difficult to discern solid ground from sand. For a few centimetres difference, one of us goes through while the other stops dead. Fortunately, it is downhill, and we manage to gather enough speed to cross the mounds of sand doing zigzags. It becomes almost a game, but a daredevil game: we drop into sand, pull ourselves out with a pull of the handlebars, pushing hard on the pedals, and continue zigzaging precariously, until the next mound of sand. Sometimes the pull on the handlebars takes us into an even sandier hole, and we stop catastrophically, leaning over at 45 degrees or... simply fall! Olivier must be evan more careful, since when Phileas passes is can be Bob the trailer, that crashes!

 

But despite a few falls, it will come through honourably and we are close to the town of Colchane, a few kilometers from the Bolivian border.

 

On the map, name is written in big letters, so we should be able to find a "tiendas", an information office, and above all, Internet! Since Putre, we have had no contact with the family, and we wish to reassure them! We are also very much behind in uploading our log books and photographs, and fully expect to spend a few hours to download everything...

But... A big disappointment awaits us: Colchane, despite promises of our map is tiny and almost deserted. No Internet! and no information office either. Moreover everything is closed because it is market day in Pisiga, the nearby Bolivian city. Zut! (Stay polite). However, we find a "Carabineros", a police post and ask to consult their maps... Which do not show the same roads as ours! Curses on our rough map...

We were intending to continue further south before crossing the border, but a look at their map makes us change our mind: it is much easier to cross here! And also, we can also do our shopping in Pisiga market. We have an irresistible yearn for fresh produce and protein...
We would also like to contact the family. At the mini bus-terminus of the "town" there is a "public phone": a woman in a corrugated iron kiosk who lends her telephone and times with a stopwatch. It is unaffordable (2€ a minute), but we are able to contact the parents of Olivier. They were really worried, the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the Chile-Bolivia border is very dangerous, and advises against going to Bolivia! Dangerous? Here, everything seems so very peaceful, and the Carabineros have already assured us that we do not risk anything here. A little worried, we again ask the carabinero, who seems very surprised when we talk about danger. It must be said that the place is so isolated. He advises us to go ask the Bolivian customs at the border, 2 km away. Let's go! There, the customs officers laugh in our face: it is as we were in the middle of the Périgord and we ask farmers if they have problems with youngsters of the cities! Well, we are reassured, and convinced that we can go to Bolivia as planned.
Sometimes we have the feeling that the vision that French media have of foreign countries is just through a keyhole: only major events, conflicts, situations of risk, are transcribed, but they forget the rest of the country, which continues to live in peace... In any case, it’s the impression we get from this little part of the world completely lost in the mountains!

And there we are! Our little trip in Chile is already finished... But we will return to Chile in a few months, further south in Patagonia! For the moment it is the Bolivia that is ahead, with its Salars and its supposedly fabulous volcanoes further south. Will we find the smooth asphalt that our bikes dream of? Will we something else to eat other than pasta and onions? Well the accent be easier to understand than in Chile? Will we get lost in the desert lands of Sud Lipez?

 

To be continued... In the next log book!

 

Eating ...

Mmh... Not very easy to write about Chilean gastronomy when we have crossed only one city worthy of the name! Apart from the welcome return of Nutella in our saddlebags, there have been little changes since we left Peru, because we cooked most of our food... And most of our food is... Breakfast: Oats, milk powder, sugar and cinnamon; it fills our stomachs and keeps us warm, ideal for fresh mountain mornings. Faced with the disappearance of oats from the shelves of stores on the way, we replaced it with "semolina", which makes a puree that is not bad. In place of orange juice, 1 litre of water with orange "Tang" and a little imagination! Lunch: Leftovers from dinner the day before, in other words 1/3 saucepan of pasta, then sandwiches with a sauce of garlic-onion-tomatoes also prepared the previous evening. Then, the healthy part of our food: a salad! (Well, when we have the ingredients...). Tomatoes, cucumbers, and coleslaw! It keeps much better than lettuce, and can found almost everywhere. All seasoned with lemon juice and local herbs. Sometimes a piece of cheese, when we can find some, but it has nothing to do with a good brie or a "picodon" (sigh...), the local cheese is very salty and slightly elastic... Then, in only in dreams for Amanda, an thick espresso with a square of dark chocolate (re-sigh!). Afternoon snack (which can be eaten at 10 o'clock in the morning, depending on the state of degradation of cyclists): Bread and whatever we have in stock to put on it! Nutella on the best days, or jam. Recently, we discovered "manjar", with "dulce di lection" a sort of milk jam that is very popular here. Very sweet, soft, not too bad. And when we have no bread? Crackers! And when we have no crackers? Flour pancakes home-cooked the previous night! Dinner: 2/3 of a saucepan of pasta, with a delicious sauce of garlic-onion-tomato, sometimes improved with an egg or local cheese. And we never forget to keep a little sauce for the next day’s lunch! As a dessert, a large bowl of sweet tea, or a hot chocolate on special days (our reserves of milk and chocolate powder are very limited). We have tried treating ourselves to a small square of dark chocolate in the evening, but it’s impossible to find decent chocolate here... (sigh again...).

The difficult moments.

Again and again, problems with the chainrings... And a lot of lost time! Going up a slope of 12% at 3 km/h desperately seeking for air at an altitude of 4500 m. The same thing in under a storm, depressing... The disappointment in discovering that Colchane is hardly even a village. The frustration of not being able to send any news of our progress. The story of the "second" post of Carabineros:   Our welcome in the Carabineros post at Chucuyo was so good that we cannot wait to get to the next one... Especially as our hosts had promised us that they would call the following post to warn them of our arrival. Will we get there before nightfall? On the way, we stop a pick-up truck to ask them how much farther it is: only 10 more km! It will be hard, but feasible. So we pedal hard all day hoping reach the post by nightfall. But the evening draws in, and we are still cycling, at reduced speed on this earth track. Effectively, after 10km, a hamlet appears: whew! We get there as the first stars appear in the sky. But... But... there are no Carabineros! This is an adobe house that is also a mini restaurant! Oh no, the Carabineros are further down the road, 8 km from here! ". Aaaaaargh. It's too dark now to see the road and it’s not really possible to do another 8km in the dark... "But there are empty trucks going by in the direction of Salar, they can take you there." Ah, it is a good idea, because the choice between sleeping here in this sleazy little place, or with the Carabineros, is easy. So we order a mate de coca in a gloomy room, served by an unfriendly little old mamita. And we wait... We wait... we are tempted to buy a chicken soup to calm our hunger, but we fear that the Carabineros, warned of our arrival by our friends of the preceding, will be waiting for us with a meal. So we make do with a piece of bread. Finally, after about an hour, a truck stops: the driver is willing to take us! Great, the bikes and bags are hoisted into the truck, in the bitter cold of the night. And set off for the Carabineros de Guallatire! We were right not to try to make the journey by bicycle because the track is bad and climbs a lot. A few moments later, the nice driver drops us, this time at the right place. Our bikes and bags are covered with a sticky white powder that covered the back of the truck: boron, from the mine at Salar de Surire. We hope that it is not toxic! We find ourselves alone in the windy night, in front of a police post that seems large. Here, there are no Carabineros on guard. We knock timidly on the door. After a long wait, a man has finally opens the door: "Buenas noches! We are a couple of cyclists, we have come on the road from Chucuyo today, and the Carabineros there told us that we could stop here?». It does not seem to excite our prospective host: "OK". But rather than asking us in, he takes us to another building, where he leaves us, without much explanation, in the hands of a young woman. She opens a door that leads onto a small courtyard: Cool, a room just for us? Oh no, she tells us "there are rooms with bath, for 10000 pesos per person, or with no bathroom, only 5000 per person." Huh? We were not expecting that! Even at 5000 pesos, it's over 13 € per night for two, it’s too expensive for us... "No, you do have a place where we could just put our tent?" The señora hesitates, so we gently explain that we cannot afford a room, and she eventually shows us a spot on the side of the courtyard. Meanwhile, our sinister-looking carabinero has come back, and he watches silently us as we pitch our tent in the cold and the dark: what a charming welcome! Once the tent is set up, our stomachs cry from hunger. Amanda has noticed that there is a kitchen in a nearby room, she gives it a try, "would there be a place where we could do some cooking, even with our little stove?”, "What for?" asks the woman (guess!). "We are cold and hungry". The woman hesitates, but the carabinero steps in: "Here in the courtyard, next to the tent". Super... They watch us again, in silence, as we set up our stove and begin to boil some water... then, as it takes a long time, the man leaves without a word of greeting to us... As Olivier pointed out, we were too spoiled the day before, then we must compensate today! But what a rotten plan, we had done everything possible to reach this place, we would have done better to stop at sunset. We would already have bee, asleep for at least two hours, and here we are still in the process of eating our lukewarm pasta in a freezing tent... We have known better days! But at least, in the courtyard, we are sheltered from the wind. We put all our equipment in a corner, and dead tired, we finally slide into our sleeping bags... We cannot always be welcomed by angels, as on the previous day...

The best moments

When we found Nutella in Arica! The landscapes and snowcapped volcanoes of Lauca National Park. The first Carabineros! The "paradise" valleys, full of vicuñas, hidden in the Chilean Andes. The hot springs just for us! The late afternoon sun on the Salar de Surire. The vicuñas crossing the road just ahead of us, with the grace of gazelles... The impression of being at the end of the world, at 4700 m altitude, in the middle of volcanic ash and, under a deep blue sky... But in fact, we are at the World’s end...

Long live Chile!